Written Answers Thursday 7 May 2009

Scottish Executive

2014 Commonwealth Games

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what play facilities and opportunities will be created as part of the new infrastructure for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what play facilities and opportunities for children’s play will remain on-site after the end of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Shona Robison: The 2014 Commonwealth Games will result in the provision of a range of new facilities in addition to the seventy per cent of venues that are already in place.

  Four new permanent venues are scheduled to be built: the National Indoor Sports Arena, the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, Cathkin Braes Mountain Biking Course and the SECC Cultural and Entertainment Arena. In addition to the new venues, permanent enhancements will be made to several existing venues which are in public ownership. The new and enhanced venues will leave a permanent legacy of excellent facilities for use by schools, clubs and the community after the games. In some cases venues are scheduled to be ready for use by the public before the games - Cathkin Braes in 2009 and the NISA and Velodrome in 2012. Our legacy ambitions for the games include increasing participation in physical activity and sport. However, this is not solely reliant upon the provision of new facilities as we will also make the best use of a wide range of existing indoor and outdoor facilities, including sports centres, pitches, parks, cycle-paths and natural resources such as woodlands, waterways and our rural environment. This broad approach will allow us to improve links between existing local clubs, to encourage the creation of new clubs and groups and provide more opportunities for people to take part in different physical activities and sports and, indeed, encourage play amongst young people. Thus, we will seek to ensure that there is something to suit people of all ages, abilities and interests. In partnership with COSLA and sportscotland we will develop a network of community sport hubs that build on existing good practice. Community sports hubs will aim to strengthen multi-sport provision, coach development and local clubs and will work to bring clubs in the community together across Scotland. This is a very flexible model which can be shaped to suit local circumstances in both urban and rural environments and is underpinned by quality support services and access to affordable facilities, either on-site or within easy reach by public transport.

Ambulance Service

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Eurocopter EC135 helicopter operating from (a) Glasgow and (b) Inverness has been called out in each of the last three years.

Shona Robison: The information requested is set out in the following table:

  

 
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09


 Glasgow
696
786
1,121


 Inverness
643
674
766



  Note: *Information provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Ambulance Service

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the King Air 200c fixed-wing aircraft operating from (a) Aberdeen and (b) Glasgow has been called out in each of the last three years.

Shona Robison: The information requested is set out in the following table:

  

 
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09


 Aberdeen
1,015
992
951


 Glasgow
656
697
779



  Note: *Information provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Ambulance Service

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the occasions when the Eurocopter EC135 helicopters operating from Glasgow and Inverness and the King Air 200c fixed-wing aircraft operating from Aberdeen and Glasgow have been used to access island locations and what each response time was.

Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally. The Scottish Ambulance Service can be contacted at:

  Scottish Ambulance Service National Headquarters Tipperlinn Road Edinburgh EH10 5UU.

Birds

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-19918 by Michael Russell on 20 January 2009, how much funding it has made available to Dumfries and Galloway Council to trial the use of a falcon to deter gulls from the centre of Dumfries.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-19918 by Michael Russell on 20 January 2009, whether it will monitor the success of the trial use of a falcon to deter gulls from the centre of Dumfries.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-19918 by Michael Russell on 20 January 2009, how it will monitor the success of the trial use of a falcon to deter gulls from the centre of Dumfries.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-19918 by Michael Russell on 20 January 2009, whether it will make further funding available to Dumfries and Galloway Council if the trial use of a falcon to deter gulls from the centre of Dumfries is successful.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-19918 by Michael Russell on 20 January 2009, whether it will make funding available to other local authorities for the use of a falcon to deter gulls from town centres if the trial in Dumfries is successful.

Roseanna Cunningham: A task force to look at the urban gull problem in Dumfries was set up following the Urban Gull Summit held in Dumfries in June 2008. One of the group’s recommendations was to trial the flying of a falcon over the town centre to deter nesting and breeding attempts by gulls. Funding of £76,340.15 (plus VAT) has been awarded from the Contract Research Fund to engage the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) to carry out this trial and assess its effectiveness as a deterrent measure.

  The nesting and breeding success of gulls during 2009 will be evaluated and compared with data for the previous nine years to inform a cost-benefit analysis of the trial. This will determine whether an application for a further two years funding from the Contract Research Fund should be progressed. The Scottish Government will not be funding the use of a falcon as a deterrent in other areas. However, the findings of the Dumfries project will be available to other local authorities and may potentially assist them in formulating local approaches to dealing with urban gull problems.

Central Heating Programme

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the installation rate under the central heating programme was in Lanarkshire in each year since 2004-05, broken down by postcode.

Alex Neil: The number of central heating systems installed, under the central heating programme, is held by main postcode area. The main postcode covering Lanarkshire is ML.

  The number of systems installed in the ML postcode area, since 2004-05 is shown in the following table: Number of Private Sector Heating Systems Installed in the ML Postcode Area

  

 Year
 


 2004-05
712


 2005-06
1,007


 2006-07
883


 2007-08
1,301


 2008-09
1,266


 Total
5,547

Children and Young People

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any awards from the £32 million fund for the National Delivery Plan for Children and Young People’s Specialist Services announced on 20 January 2009 will require match funding from NHS boards.

Shona Robison: From the £32 million funding that has been allocated to Specialist Services for Children and Young People, £2 million has been allocated for child and adolescent mental health issues which will require match funding from the NHS boards.

Creative Scotland

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any part of the creative industries budget would be transferred to Creative Scotland.

Michael Russell: On 18 June 2008, the Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture announced in Parliament that resources of £100,000 provided by Scottish Enterprise to the Cultural Enterprise Office, for complementary specialist advice and information services for creative enterprises, would transfer to Creative Scotland. That commitment remains.

  The Creative Industries Framework Agreement, published on 5 February 2009, sets out how Creative Scotland will work together with Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and local authorities to deliver practical support for the creative industries, making best use of the resources available in each/across all these organisations. The framework agreement is available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/ArtsCultureSport/arts/CulturalPolicy/creative-scotland/CreativeIndustries.

Creative Scotland

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial costs would be associated with Creative Scotland other than transitional costs.

Michael Russell: As I said in my statement to the Parliament on 2 April, there are two additional smaller costs which, though not directly arising from the transition, are still germane to it. They are a one-off payment of a maximum of £340,000 which may be required on current estimates for pension arrangements, and a potential revenue loss of up to £300,000 per year relating to the Scottish Arts Council’s loss of charitable status.

Creative Scotland

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last discussed the public services reform Bill with regard to the establishment of Creative Scotland with Scottish Enterprise.

Michael Russell: I discussed Creative Scotland, its establishment and its role in supporting creative industries with the Creative Industry Framework Agreement Implementation Group on 24 March 2009. The group includes Scottish Enterprise and its Chief Executive, Jack Perry, attended the meeting. That group is tasked with developing the operational delivery of the Creative Industries Framework Agreement.

Creative Scotland

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Creative Scotland will offer loans to artists.

Michael Russell: As I said in my statement to the Parliament on 2 April 2009, the way in which support is provided to artists and creative practitioners in Scotland must be modernised. The detail of this work will be an operational matter for Creative Scotland who will explore additional funding models to improve the way in which the cultural sector is supported as well as maintaining grant funding facilities.

Creative Scotland

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider using the word artist in the public services reform Bill.

Michael Russell: The wording of the Creative Scotland provisions in the Public Services Reform Bill will be made available to the Parliament on the Bill’s introduction. As previously indicated, the use of the word "artist" could lead to difficulties of legal interpretation but the intention will be to enshrine creativity and the place of the creative individual at the heart of cultural policy.

Culture

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of Scottish Screen.

Michael Russell: I had a meeting with the Joint board of Scottish Screen and the Scottish Arts Council on 21 April and an introductory meeting with Scottish Screen staff on 24 March 2009. Scottish Government officials regularly meet with representatives from Scottish Screen on an on-going basis.

Culture

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had discussions with Scottish Screen regarding the retention of its brand if Creative Scotland is established.

Michael Russell: The branding of Creative Scotland will be an operational matter for the organisation to decide on. As I said in my statement to Parliament on 2 April 2009, Creative Scotland should, will and must be a highly successful and recognised brand, and all our efforts should go into making it so while not looking backwards but forwards.

Dairy Industry

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it views the current prospects for the dairy sector.

Richard Lochhead: In common with other types of agricultural activity the dairy sector is subject to market movement. Global economic factors are impacting on farmgate prices which are a concern to many dairy producers. The government has called a dairy summit for 27 May, to which all parts of the supply chain have been invited, to discuss issues of common concern.

Dentistry

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many tooth extractions were carried out under (a) general and (b) local anaesthetic in each of the last five years.

Shona Robison: Table 1 shows, by NHS board, the number of teeth extracted in the NHS General Dental Service setting in each of the last five financial years available. General anaesthetic is not carried out in this setting. Local anaesthetic and other types of analgesia are used in this setting, where clinically appropriate, for tooth extraction, but it is not possible to provide information on the type of anaesthetic used for each extraction.

  Table 2 shows, by NHS board, the number of teeth extracted in the Community Dental Service setting in last the five financial years to 2006-07. It is not possible to provide information on the type of anaesthetic used for each extraction. Information is not available on the number of teeth extracted in the Hospital Dental Service. Table 1 Number of teeth extracted in the NHS General Dental Service; Years ending 31 March 2004 to 2008

  

 NHS Board
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008


 Scotland
485,983
482,771
469,464
464,150
467,871


 Argyll and Clyde
42,909
41,528
40,750
x
x


 Ayrshire and Arran
37,301
38,941
37,615
39,230
40,985


 Borders
7,762
7,147
7,563
7,358
6,594


 Dumfries and Galloway
12,885
11,799
10,575
10,851
12,423


 Fife
33,102
33,054
31,671
31,270
32,553


 Forth Valley
23,698
24,154
23,420
23,563
25,122


 Grampian
38,246
33,891
33,311
29,553
27,989


 Greater Glasgow
105,440
108,313
107,968
140,822
136,314


 Highland
13,361
12,337
12,266
19,596
20,979


 Lanarkshire
61,587
61,327
59,396
59,875
58,030


 Lothian
69,658
70,599
68,444
65,534
68,753


 Orkney Islands
863
1,259
1,158
1,810
1,153


 Shetland Islands
1,331
1,139
1,206
1,472
1,373


 Tayside
35,508
35,191
32,140
30,674
32,728


 Western Isles
2,332
2,092
1,981
2,542
2,875



  Source: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System).

  Notes: X – Denotes the reconfiguration of NHS Argyll and Clyde into Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Highland. 1. This data relates to dental treatment carried out under NHS General Dental Services and excludes the Community Dental Service, Hospital Dental Service and private dental treatment. 2. The data above relates to the number of teeth extracted, not the number of patients who received such treatment. A patient may have had multiple teeth extracted on one occasion or more. 3. Data accuracy is dependent on MIDAS data quality and may be affected by errors at source such as data entry, coding and scanning inaccuracies. 4. NHS board is based on the dental practice postcode. Table 2 Number of Teeth Extracted in the Community Dental Service; Year Ending 31 March 2003 to 2007 

  

 NHS Board
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007


 Scotland
74,675
78,988
81,415
79,983
71,786


 Argyll and Clyde
3,351
5,203
4,881
5,036
x


 Ayrshire and Arran
7,971
7,852
6,278
6,965
6,461


 Borders
558
473
406
368
156


 Dumfries and Galloway
2,271
2,200
104
39
320


 Fife
12,938
13,492
14,212
13,803
16,066


 Forth Valley
8,798
8,742
11,184
10,479
7,521


 Grampian
5,953
6,394
8,345
7,054
5,546


 Greater Glasgow
6,227
6,039
4,014
1,007
4,713


 Highland
6,645
6,657
5,277
5,478
5,378


 Lanarkshire
9,549
11,047
11,881
15,671
14,841


 Lothian
3,212
2,809
3,119
5,181
3,656


 Orkney Islands
109
58
40
156
74


 Shetland Islands
328
37
125
144
213


 Tayside
6,112
7,233
7,424
6,466
5,514


 Western Isles
579
578
2,606
1,113
277


 Not known 
74
174
1,519
1,023
1,050



  Source: SMR13 (Community Dental Service Data).

  Notes: X – Denotes the reconfiguration of NHS Argyll and Clyde into Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Highland. 1. This data relates to dental treatment carried out under the Community Dental Service and excludes the NHS general dental service, hospital dental service and private dental treatment. 2. Community Dental Service data (SMR13) for some NHS board areas may be incomplete for the years 2004-05 to 2006-07. SMR13 recording ceased to exist from 1 April 2007. A new clinical system, R4, is currently being rolled out to the Community and Salaried dental Services. 3. The data above relates to the number of teeth extracted, not the number of patients who received such treatment. A patient may have had multiple teeth extracted on one occasion or more. 4. NHS Board is based on the location code as recorded on the SMR13 form.  Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged (a) under five, (b) five to 18 and (c) over 18 had teeth extracted under (i) general and (ii) local anaesthetic in 2007-08.

Shona Robison: Table 1 shows, by NHS board, the number of patients who had teeth extracted in the NHS General Dental Service setting in 2007-08. General anaesthetic is not carried out in this setting. Local anaesthetic and other types of analgesia are used in this setting, where clinically appropriate, for tooth extractions, but it is not possible to provide information on the type of anaesthetic used for each extraction.

  Table 2 shows, by NHS board, the number of patients who had a tooth extraction procedure carried out in the Hospital Dental Service setting in 2007-08. It is not possible to provide information on the type of anaesthetic used for each extraction. Information is not available on the number of teeth extracted in the community dental service setting. Table 1 Number of Patients who had Teeth Extracted in the NHS General Dental Service in 2007-08

  

 NHS Board
Patient Age


0-4 years
5-18 years
18 and over


 Scotland
 662
 56,886
 224,983


 Ayrshire and Arran
 68
 4,824
 19,244


 Borders
 5
 809
 3,811


 Dumfries and Galloway
 14
 1,397
 6,187


 Fife
 48
 3,434
 15,567


 Forth Valley
 34
 3,019
 12,505


 Grampian
 33
 4,652
 13,139


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 250
 16,567
 62,432


 Highland
 22
 2,817
 10,262


 Lanarkshire
 102
 7,327
 26,983


 Lothian
 66
 7,580
 35,002


 Orkney
 1
 155
 683


 Shetland
 0
 203
 756


 Tayside
 19
 3,923
 16,775


 Western Isles
 0
 179
 1,637



  Source: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System)

  Notes: 1. This data relates to dental treatment carried out under NHS general dental services and excludes the community dental service, hospital dental service and private dental treatment. 2. The data above relates to the number of individual patients who have had teeth extracted, not the number of teeth extracted. 3. Extractions (for children in particular) will include those required for orthodontic diagnosis rather than those due to decay. It is not possible to distinguish between orthodontic and non-orthodontic extractions. 4. Data accuracy is dependent on MIDAS data quality and may be affected by errors at source such as data entry, coding and scanning inaccuracies. 5. NHS board is based on the dental practice postcode. Table 2 Number of Patients who had a Tooth Extraction Procedure Carried out in the Hospital Dental Service in 2007-08 

  

 NHS Board
Patient Age


0 - 4 years
5 - 18 years
18 and over


 Scotland
2,017
 6,881
 5,084


 Ayrshire and Arran
 219
 587
 375


 Borders
 37
 216
 184


 Dumfries and Galloway
 48
260 
 691


 Fife
 11
 125
 622


 Forth Valley
 30
 163
 340


 Grampian
 48
 384
 489


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 631
 1,764
 671


 Highland
 117
 548
 342


 Lanarkshire
 347
 852
 443


 Lothian
 308
 1,136
 419


 Orkney
 4
 43
 43


 Shetland
 10
 38
 59


 Tayside
 206
 745
 380


 Western Isles
 1
 20
 26



  Source: SMR01.

  Notes: 1. These statistics are derived from data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric specialties (SMR01) in Scotland. 2. For Hospital Dental Services, tooth extraction is defined as OPCS4: F09 (surgical removal of tooth) or F10 (simple extraction of tooth). SMR01 can capture up to four operations in each discharge summary; data in the table are based on the presence of a relevant OPCS4 code in the discharge summary, regardless of primary/secondary operation. 3. These statistics are a count of patients undergoing a tooth extraction procedure, not a count of teeth extracted. 4. NHS board is based on the patients postcode.

Digital Technology

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18217 by Jim Mather on 3 December 2008, whether it expects to reach its target of meeting 100% of the known demand for broadband access in the Scottish Borders by May 2009.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government has made significant progress in deployment of the Broadband Reach Project. We expect completion of delivery by the end of May 2009 for all for all those from the Scottish Borders (and elsewhere in Scotland) who registered for the project prior to the original deadline of 31 March 2008, and who have placed an order for service.

Drug Misuse

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people arrested by the police it estimates to have illegal drugs in their systems at the time of arrest.

Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not held centrally.

Drug Misuse

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions have been undertaken in relation to drug dealing offences in North Ayrshire and how many have resulted in conviction since 2004.

Kenny MacAskill: Statistics about prosecutions and convictions at a local authority level are based on the location of the court at which the case was heard. Whilst local authority and court areas are not co-terminous, this provides the best available approximation to local authority information. However, as there is no sheriff court based in North Ayrshire, it is not possible to provide an estimate of the number of prosecutions for offences in this local authority.

  The number of prosecutions and convictions in Kilmarnock sheriff court are given below. This court deals with cases from North Ayrshire, as well as other areas. Persons Proceeded Against for supply, Possession with Intent to Supply1 Kilmarnock Sheriff Court, 2003-04 - 2007-08

  

 
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08


 Proceeded against
120
82
92
96
100


 Charge proved
106
76
78
87
83



  Note: 1.Where main offence

Drug and Alcohol Misuse

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of people arrested by the police has an illegal drug in their system, broken down by type of drug.

Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not held centrally.

Drug and Alcohol Misuse

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it shares the concerns of police officers, as reported in The Scotsman on 27 April 2009, who have become increasingly concerned about the number of people found to be mixing cocaine with alcohol, making them extremely difficult to deal with and, if so, what action it intends to take.

Fergus Ewing: Mixing cocaine with alcohol not only makes people difficult to deal with, it is also very dangerous for the individuals concerned.

  We will be running new Know the Score campaigns on cocaine later this year. We will work with key stakeholders to develop messages for the campaigns that are credible and accurate. In developing them we will also consider the issue of poly-drug use. We are also updating our suite of Know the Score materials, website and helpline. Last year we held three cocaine awareness weekends in selected Scottish regions. These helped to forge useful links with third parties including the licensed community, the police and partner networks such as Alcohol and Drugs Action Teams (ADATs) and local organisations operating in the field. The issue of mixing cocaine with alcohol was also highlighted in the Scottish Advisory Committee on Drug Misuse (SACDM) Psychostimulant report. We will publish a response to that report shortly.

Emergency Services

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of the Cardiff Model, which was established to collect data on violent incidents from accident and emergency units, and whether it has carried out an assessment of any potential benefits from adopting this model.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether findings from the injury surveillance projects in accident and emergency units in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Fife will be made public and, if so, when.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the evaluation of the success of the injury surveillance projects in accident and emergency units in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Fife will take place.

Fergus Ewing: A key element of the Scottish Government’s approach to tackle violence is to work closely with the national Violence Reduction Unit and other partners in order to better understand the nature and true extent of the problem. Injury surveillance systems at accident and emergency departments help us do so and, building on the success of the Cardiff model, there are now injury surveillance projects running in Edinburgh and Fife, with another due to begin shortly in Lanarkshire which we are helping fund. The information gathered through these schemes is shared with the police to inform their tasking and coordinating meetings in an attempt to prevent future incidents and we hope that it can have a positive impact. All of the schemes will be evaluated in due course and we hope that successful systems can be replicated in other parts of Scotland.

Environment

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is working towards cutting CO 2 emissions from key transport projects and what estimates it has of the emissions associated with projects where the construction phase has not yet commenced and that are due to be delivered between 2009 and the start of implementation of the Strategic Transport Projects Review.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government is working towards cutting CO 2 emissions from key transport projects as outlined in the Government Economic Strategy, National Transport Strategy and the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR).

  The following table details the emissions associated with the projects where construction has not yet commenced and which are due to be delivered before the implementation of the STPR.

  

 Route
 Project Name
Estimated Carbon Dioxide Emissions* (tonnes p.a.) Unless Otherwise Stated
Assessment Year


 A77
 Park End to Bennane
3
2008


 M74
 Raith Interchange
10,000
2020


 A9
 Crubenmore Extension
251
2022


 A96
 Fochabers to Mosstodloch
171
2020


 M8 
 Baillieston to Newhouse
30,000
2020


 M8
 Associated Network Improvements
1,600
2010


 A75
 Dunragit Bypass
3,670
2022


 A9
 Kincraig to Dalraddy
45
2023


 A90
 Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route
36,700
2025


 A77
 Symington and Bogend Toll
121
2024


 A90
 Balmedie to Tipperty
2,137
2010


 
 Forth Replacement Crossing
-23,000
2017


 Rail
 Glasgow Airport Rail Link
-2,000
2014


 Rail
 Borders Railway
Cumulative decreases of
-74,000
-238,000
-415,000

2030
2050
2070


 Rail
 Edinburgh – Glasgow (Rail) Improvements Programme
-20,000 annually with cumulative savings of
-1,181, 000

 
2075


 Rail
 Edinburgh Tram Line 1a
+98,000
+177,000
2011
2031



  Note: *The emission estimates within this table are forecast increases in carbon dioxide emissions with the project compared to without the project in a given future assessment year. These estimates have been calculated using a variety of methodologies and, consequently, it is not statistically valid to aggregate the individual figures or directly compare them with one another. Environmental impacts from infrastructure projects are taken from the latest published estimates. In most cases, this will be the carbon estimate contained in the specific Environmental Statement (ES). Some projects may not yet have undergone a formal Environmental Statement; where this is the case the carbon estimate is taken from the environmental chapter of the STAG Appraisal report.

Epilepsy

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many epilepsy operations have been performed on (a) adults and (b) children in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: A definitive group of surgical procedures specifically attributable to the treatment of epilepsy is not available from central records.

  Discharge records for patients with a main diagnosis of epilepsy can contain a range of performed surgical procedures which may or may not be specifically aimed at treating the underlying condition. In the absence of a specified list of surgical procedures, the requested information is not available centrally.

Financial Inclusion

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it provided for financial inclusion in (a) 2007 and (b) 2008.

Alex Neil: Funding information is available for financial years only. We allocated £5.3 million, though the Financial Inclusion Fund, to local authorities in 2007-08. In 2008-09, reflecting the Concordat with local government, the funding for financial inclusion activities was included in the wider ring-fenced £145 million Fairer Scotland Fund.

  Funding in respect of enhanced debt advice services was also included within the general funding allocation for local authorities in both 2007-08 and 2008-09 but the amounts were not separately identifiable. We provided £0.698 million in 2007-08 and £1.616 million in 2008-09 to other organisations to support money advice. We funded two financial education projects in 2007-08 (£338,000) and one in 2008-09 (£100,000).

Financial Inclusion

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations it funded for financial inclusion in (a) 2007 and (b) 2008 and how much each received.

Alex Neil: Funding information is available for financial years only. The following organisations received funding in 2007-08 and 2008-09. Funding provided to local authorities through the local government settlement to support the provision of money advice is not included because the Scottish Government does not hold details of which organisations were funded. Financial inclusion activity supported by the Fairer Scotland Fund in 2008-09 also cannot be separately identified.

  (£000)

  

 
2007-08
2008-09


 Financial Inclusion Fund Allocation
 
Covered by Fairer Scotland Fund


 Dundee
450
 


 East Ayrshire
350
 


 Glasgow City
900
 


 Inverclyde
600
 


 North Ayrshire
300
 


 North Lanarkshire
500
 


 Renfrewshire
450
 


 South Lanarkshire
500
 


West Dunbartonshire
600
 


West Lothian
350
 


Western Isles
300
 


Money Advice
 
 


Money Advice Training, Information and Advice Services
285
316


Citizens Advice Direct
313
326


National Debtline
100
600


Citizens Advice bureaux (Barnett consequential)
 
374


 Financial education
 
 


 Citizens Advice Scotland
250
-


 Young Scot
88
100

Financial Services

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding for financial inclusion it has allocated for 2009-10.

Alex Neil: Further work on improving financial inclusion will be taken forward through Achieving our Potential , our framework for tackling poverty and income inequality in Scotland. We have yet to finalise the allocation of the £7.5 million which will support Achieving our Potential in the two years 2009-10 and 2010-11.

  We continue to provide support for money advice through the local government settlement, and are providing £1.471 million in 2009-10 to other organisations to support money advice. We have also committed £55,000 in 2009-10 to a financial education project, with further allocations yet to be confirmed.

Food

James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the proposal to introduce Saltire labelling for Scottish food.

Richard Lochhead: Any initiative which encourages consumers to support Scotland’s food and drink industry is to be warmly welcomed. Measures to improve support for Scottish produce were discussed at the First Minister’s Supermarket Summit last September.

Food

Gil Paterson (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress there has been on the national food policy.

Richard Lochhead: A national food and drink policy reflecting growth, health, affordability and environmental sustainability is a priority for this administration. To deliver this I set up a Leadership Forum to recommend the next steps for action. This group will report soon and I will set out the next steps in the summer.

Health

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the health-related projects where participants were or will be given a cash payment since 2007.

Nicola Sturgeon: Details of health-related projects in which participants have or will be given a cash payment are not held centrally.

Health

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the parliamentary constituencies in which participants in health-related projects have been or will be given a cash payment since 2007.

Nicola Sturgeon: Details of health-related projects in which participants have or will be given a cash payment are not held centrally.

  It is not, therefore, possible to list the parliamentary constituencies in which participants in these projects reside.

Health

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the party affiliation of the MSPs elected to represent the parliamentary constituencies in which participants in health-related projects were or will be given a cash payment since 2007.

Nicola Sturgeon: Details of health-related projects in which participants have or will be given a cash payment are not held centrally.

  It is not, therefore, possible to list the party affiliation of the MSPs elected to represent the parliamentary constituencies in which these projects are undertaken.

Historic Buildings

Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that suitable mechanisms are in place to allow effective review of the future of listed buildings when their preservation threatens other community interests.

Michael Russell: There are mechanisms in place to review the future of listed buildings; these take into account wider community benefits. The listed building consent process in particular exists to allow appropriate alteration, re-use and, in certain circumstances, demolition of the building. The tests by which a building can be demolished were most recently set out in the Scottish Historic Environment Policy, published in October 2008. One such circumstance is where it can be demonstrated that the demolition of the building is essential to delivering significant benefits to economic growth or the wider community.

  There is, in addition, an appeal process against the refusal of listed building consent which can be pursued where an applicant is unsatisfied with the decision.

Justice

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what aspects of the Glasgow pilot community court will be brought forward.

Fergus Ewing: We have agreed with Glasgow to explore the scope to invest in a more focused service to test out an improved payback scheme for the East End. Officials are meeting with the Director of Social Work for Glasgow this month to start these discussions. We share with Glasgow a strong commitment to put resources back into the communities most blighted by crime.

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent in the Lothians region on anti-knife crime campaigns in each of the last five years, broken down by campaign.

Fergus Ewing: The only knife crime communication campaign undertaken by the Scottish Government over the past five years ran between November 2006 and April 2007, and £220,489 was spent on its delivery throughout the Lothian region. However, we are continuing to work in partnership with the national Violence Reduction Unit to deliver a range of initiatives to prevent and reduce knife crime. These include the on-going anti-violence policing campaign, which is delivering coordinated and targeted enforcement action across the Lothian region, and our new £500,000 youth engagement initiative, No Knives Better Lives,  which will work directly with young people across Scotland, including those in the Lothians, to educate them about the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife.

Justice

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to safeguard the right to protest.

Kenny MacAskill: Existing law safeguards and permits lawful protest. In doing so it strikes a balance between protecting the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly with the rights of the wider community to go about their daily lives safely and without undue disruption. We look to local authorities, the police and other agencies to use their discretion at a local level to ensure that this balance is maintained in respect of individual events.

Justice

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many non-violent political campaigners came under surveillance in the last 12 months.

Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not available. Surveillance is undertaken on the basis of necessity and proportionality; not on the basis of individual political motivation. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 provides that surveillance may only be conducted:

  for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime; for the purpose of preventing disorder; for the purpose of protecting public health, or if it is in the interests of protecting public safety.

Justice

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what monies have been provided to Glasgow City Council for the provision of community service orders.

Kenny MacAskill: Glasgow Community Justice Authority received an allocation of £2,495,922 for 2009-10 for the provision of community service orders.

Justice

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether additional monies have been provided to Glasgow City Council for the provision of community service orders.

Kenny MacAskill: Glasgow Community Justice Authority received an increase this year of £358,689 over their allocation for 2008-09 for the provision of community service orders. This represents the authority’s share of the additional £2 million allocated to Community Justice Authorities to improve the immediacy and speed of delivery of community service and to support increased workload.

Licensing

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its proposal to place a duty on licensing boards to consider raising the minimum age of off-sales purchases within their area to 21, what consideration it has given to the possibility of confusion arising whereby the minimum off-sales age varies across local authority areas and leads to 18 to 20-year-olds travelling to neighbouring areas to buy alcohol from off-sales outlets.

Shona Robison: In light of consultation responses to our proposal to raise the minimum legal purchase age for off-sales to 21, and the difficulties of carrying such a measure through Parliament, the Scottish Government has decided not to pursue a blanket approach across Scotland. Our revised approach will provide local flexibility by encouraging and facilitating licensing boards to develop local solutions to local problems. This is consistent with the general approach of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 which already allows for conditions to be tailored to particular premises or particular types of premises.

  Should a decision by one licensing board to raise the minimum purchase age for off-sales purchases to 21 result in displacement of a problem to neighbouring boards, those boards will have the opportunity to review their own policies as they see appropriate. Chief constables and the local licensing forum will also have powers to request their local licensing board to consider increasing the minimum purchase age for off-sales at any time.

Licensing

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were convicted of (a) allowing disorderly conduct on licensed premises and (b) selling alcohol to people who were intoxicated in each of the last 10 years in the Lothians region, broken down by local authority area.

Kenny MacAskill: In the period 1998-99 to 2007-08 there were no convictions in the Lothians region where the main offence involved was allowing disorderly conduct on licensed premises. Convictions for selling alcohol to people who are drunk cannot be identified separately in the available statistics.

Mental Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to reduce the use of antidepressants.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is committed to providing appropriate care and treatment to those who suffer from depression, in line with national clinical guidelines.

  This is supported by work to put in place integrated care pathways for depression that meet the standards established by NHS QIS; the commitment to increase access to psychological therapies in Scotland in line with the evidence base for effective interventions; screening for depression for those with coronary heart disease and diabetes and appropriate treatment; access to online and telephone based cognitive behavioural therapy and self-help for depression; promotion of physical activity as both a treatment for depression to reduce the risk of developing depression, and our target of increasing the range of non-pharmacological responses to depression to reduce reliance on antidepressants.

Mental Health

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £32 million for the National Delivery Plan for Children and Young People’s Specialist Services announced on 20 January 2009 has been allocated and how much has been allocated to children’s mental health services.

Shona Robison: In year 1, 2008-09, £2 million was provided to Regional Planning Groups and Health Boards for specialist children’s services. Year 2 funding of £10 million has been allocated to NHS boards and Regional Planning Groups. Discussions are on-going with the National Delivery Plan Implementation Group regarding year 3 funding of £20 million. From year 2 and 3 funding, £1 million per year has been allocated for child and adolescent mental health services.

Mental Health

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what response there has been from NHS boards to the offer of an additional £2 million per year from 2009-10 to support the development of specialist child and adolescent mental health services, both for inpatients and in the community.

Shona Robison: Bids have now been received and accepted from NHS boards, on a regional basis. The bids focus on increasing access to specialist services.

  Additional funding was announced on 6 May to support further developments in the specialist child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) workforce I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23262 on 7 May 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Mental Health

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce waiting time targets for child and adolescent mental health services.

Shona Robison: We are currently working to establish a waiting time target for referral to treatment for specialist child and adolescent mental heath services for 2010-11. A Project Delivery Board has been established to support and inform this and attention is being focussed on workforce, services, data collection, quality of care, referral protocols and information systems.

Mental Health

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the capacity of the specialist child and adolescent mental health services workforce to the levels recommended in the report, Getting the Right Workforce, Getting the Workforce Right .

Shona Robison: We continue to encourage NHS boards to consider the child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) workforce development within their workforce plans and reflect this priority agenda in local spending plans. We are also supporting them to reconfigure the existing workforce and introduce a new mix of skills and competencies to meet these challenges. Specifically for specialist CAMHS we have recently made available £2 million new money each year, to be matched by NHS boards, to accelerate the development of specialist CAMHS inpatient services and supporting intensive community services.

  In addition, on 6 May we announced £6.5 million over three years to expand the dedicated child psychology workforce and to open up additional training places and posts.

Mental Health

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address concerns of agencies involved in children and young people’s mental health policy development that levels of inter-agency working could be improved.

Shona Robison: We continue to work with NHS boards and their partner agencies to address the challenges of implementing such a large service agenda across multiple organisations and agencies.

  Getting it right for every child (Bib. number 46523) has a particular emphasis on ensuring that where more than one agency is providing support, there is a co-ordinated approach, based on shared assessment using common language, with a lead professional to co-ordinate action. Our recently published action plan for mental health improvement – Towards a Mentally Flourishing Scotland – identifies mentally healthy infants, children and young people as a strategic priority. It reiterates that the challenges and complexities require action by government, including local government, by the NHS, by organisations in the voluntary and private sectors, as well as people themselves. Plans to support interagency working include support to local interagency implementation and learning and workforce development.

Mental Health

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it proposes to increase funding and staffing of university departments relating to children’s mental health.

Shona Robison: Improving the mental health and wellbeing for children and young people is a priority for the Scottish Government. We continue to encourage NHS boards to consider Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) workforce development within their workforce plans.

  Workforce Planning is well established in NHSScotland and a National Workforce Planning Framework is in place to support and assist NHS boards in planning their future workforce needs, taking into account current supply and future demand. A nursing workforce planning model is in place at national level to determine the need for student nurses, including mental health nurses, to meet future demand and takes into account the workforce characteristics of the current nursing supply. NHS boards should also factor changes to services and their likely impact on staff groups into their own workforce planning processes. Based on this information the Scottish Government Health Directorates commissions a nationally agreed number of student nurses and midwives to the six higher education providers of nursing and midwifery education. As part of this commissioning process, the Health Directorates will ensure that the future need for CAHMS nurses is taken into account. NHS Education for Scotland, on behalf of the Scottish Government Health Directorates, is working with both education providers and NHS boards to maximise the exposure of both mental health and children’s nursing students to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services as practice placements.

NHS Hospitals

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it has issued to NHS boards in respect of charges for in-patient telephone and audio visual use.

Nicola Sturgeon: No guidance has been issued to NHS boards in respect of charges for in-patient telephone and audio visual use.

  I also refer the member to the answer to question S3O-06715 on 30 April 2009. All answers to oral parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0430-02.htm#Col16979.

NHS Services

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what patient transport provision is in place for people who cannot access their own transport and do not have access to public transport.

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what patient transport is available for people who have access only to limited public transport.

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be a reasonable length of time for people attending hospital to wait for public transport and whether this varies with age and fitness level.

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what facilities are available for ill and older people who are required to wait in excess of (a) two, (b) three, (c) four, (d) five, (e) six, (f) seven and (g) eight hours for public transport to attend and return home from hospital appointments.

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what distance it considers reasonable for ill or older patients to be required to walk to a bus stop or railway station when attending hospital services.

Nicola Sturgeon: Transport services will vary within each NHS board area across Scotland. Community and Demand Responsive Transport services play a vital role in providing access to NHS facilities in areas where public transport services are limited.

  Under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2004, Regional Transport Partnerships have a legal requirement to develop Access to Healthcare Strategies and address the issues for their areas. Regional Transport Partnerships continue to work with local authorities and health boards to mainstream travel plans and work with local partners to promote more active and sustainable travel. The Scottish Government is providing local government with record levels of funding over the period 2008-11. It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the total financial resources available to it (including those provided under the Enhanced Demand Responsive Transport Initiative) on the basis of local needs and priorities.

NHS Services

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what patient transport is available for people who are unable to use their own transport on medical grounds and do not have access to public transport.

Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-19699 on 21 January 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

NHS Services

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers it in keeping with patient confidentiality that patients accessing patient transport services are required to discuss their conditions with staff administering such schemes.

Nicola Sturgeon: Yes. As decisions about access to the Scottish Ambulance Service Patient Transport Service are made on the basis of medical eligibility, it is necessary for staff to seek the information required to establish this.

  All NHS Employees, including those within the Scottish Ambulance Service, are bound by the NHS Scotland Code of Practice on Protecting Patient Confidentiality.

NHS Services

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what distance it considers reasonable as an additional journey for patient transport services.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Ambulance Service takes patients, or groups of patients, who have a medical need for transport to and from appointments. The service tries to ensure that resources are used in the most cost effective and efficient way possible. This means that, where possible, routes are planned to allow groups of patients to travel in one vehicle whilst at the same time trying to balance the length of time individual patients have to spend in the vehicle.

NHS Services

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what transport is available for patients attending hospital clinics held outwith hospital premises.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) Patient Transport Service will take patients to their appointments wherever they are being held. This will include clinics held outwith hospital premises.

NHS Services

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital appointments were missed or cancelled due to the patient transport service being unable to provide transport in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government or the Scottish Ambulance Service.

  However, the Scottish Ambulance Service is committed to reducing the number of times it is unable to provide transport and will continue to work with NHS boards to do so.

NHS Services

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether patients with no access to public transport who are unable to drive are eligible for patient transport services.

Nicola Sturgeon: We would encourage patients in this situation, who do not meet the medical criteria for Scottish Ambulance Service Patient Transport, to discuss their requirements with their local NHS board.

  In addition, under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2004, Regional Transport Partnerships have a legal requirement to develop Access to Healthcare Strategies for their areas. Regional transport partnerships continue to work with local authorities and health boards to mainstream travel plans and work with local partners to promote more active and sustainable travel. With the introduction of Single Outcome Agreements and the concordat with COSLA, the Scottish Government has given funding straight to the local authorities who are responsible for the Regional Transport Partnerships in taking forward these strategies. The Scottish Government encourages NHS boards to work with their Regional Transport Partnership in developing Access to Healthcare Strategies to address the needs of local communities.

NHS Services

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether patients who require a family member to escort them to hospital are eligible for patient transport services.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) have a clear policy on relative or carer eligibility for travel with patients. A relative or a carer will be able to escort a patient where the patient is a child or if the patient’s clinical condition is such that they require constant attention. Should a patient require an escort to travel with them and if they fit this criteria, which will be established following a medical assessment, then the ambulance service will make every effort to accommodate the request.

NHS Services

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what access to patient transport services patients have who must attend a series of appointments requiring them to stay away from home and close to the hospital for a number of days (a) in hospital-provided accommodation, (b) in charitable accommodation, (c) in a hotel or bed and breakfast and (d) with family or friends.

Nicola Sturgeon: We would encourage patients to discuss their specific circumstances with their NHS board to establish the support and options available to them for transport to appointments.

Physical Education

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21599 by Keith Brown on 19 March 2009, what information is available on how many local authorities are delivering two hours PE per week to all pupils.

Keith Brown: It will take time for HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) to build an accurate picture of the position across all local authorities. However, through discussions with local authorities and schools we understand that all East Renfrewshire schools and Perth and Kinross primary schools are providing two hours of physical education to every pupil each week. Good progress is also being made in other schools and authorities.

Police

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was consulted on the decision to allow Strathclyde Police Armed Response Unit to operate covertly and in plain clothes.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether guidelines are in place concerning when Strathclyde Police Armed Response Unit can operate covertly and in plain clothes.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive at what level any decisions are made allowing Strathclyde Police Armed Response Unit to operate covertly and in plain clothes.

Kenny MacAskill: The deployment of police armed response units, including covertly and in plain clothes, is an operational matter for the relevant Chief Constable and as such it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to be involved. Armed response units in Scotland are deployed in accordance with strict operational guidance contained in the Manual of Guidance on Police Use of Firearms agreed by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland.

Police

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive which police forces allow armed response units to operate covertly and in plain clothes.

Kenny MacAskill: At present, only Strathclyde Police allows armed response units to operate covertly and in plain clothes.

Police

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what legislation authorises the operation of police armed response units.

Kenny MacAskill: Police armed response units operate under Section 54 of the Firearms Act 1968.

Police

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take in light of reports that officers from Strathclyde Police offered to pay a member of the protest group, Plane Stupid, as an informant.

Kenny MacAskill: The use of police informants is an established part of policing and is overseen by the independent Office of the Surveillance Commissioner. Individual operational decisions are a matter for the relevant police force.

Police

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has concerns about the operation of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 and, if so, what concerns.

Kenny MacAskill: The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 provides a framework for the authorisation and regulation of the use of investigatory powers by public authorities in Scotland. It seeks to balance the protection of individual civil liberties with the safety of the wider public and we have no current concerns with its operation.

Police

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider issuing guidance to police forces that pay for intelligence information from informants in relation to groups or organisations that are not criminal or violent in nature.

Kenny MacAskill: A Code of Practice relating to Covert Human Intelligence Sources, made under Section 24 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000, already exists. Copies of this are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 26338).

Prescriptions

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are in place to issue drugs for prescriptions written in England.

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how patients from England with long-term conditions requiring regular medication will have their prescriptions issued when visiting Scotland and how much they will pay for them.

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements it has in place for Scottish patients with long-term conditions requiring regular medication to have their prescriptions issued when visiting England.

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration has been given to the cross-border arrangements for prescriptions being written in England and issued in Scotland and vice versa.

Shona Robison: The arrangements in relation to prescription forms issued in England and dispensed in Scotland are set out in the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Regulations 2008, and have therefore been given full consideration by the Scottish Parliament. The arrangements in relation to prescription forms issued in Scotland and dispensed in England are set out in the relevant Regulations in England.

  These Regulations provide that all prescriptions written in England and presented in a pharmacy in Scotland, and vice versa, will be dispensed in the normal way. However, the charge applied per item will be the equivalent of the charge applied in England, which is currently £7.20, unless patients are exempt under the relevant Regulations. This includes exemption through presentation of a valid Prescription Pre-payment Certificate (PPC), which are particularly beneficial to patients with long-term conditions. A small number of residents of Scotland are registered with a GP practice based in England and will therefore be issued with an English prescription form. Those patients can apply for an Entitlement Card which entitles them to pay the reduced Scottish charge, currently £4.00, if they present their prescription form, along with their Entitlement Card, in a pharmacy in Scotland.

Prescriptions

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) cost of administering prescriptions and (b) income from prescription charges was in 2008-09 and what it estimates this will be in 2009-10 and 2010-11.

Shona Robison: (a) The gross cost of dispensing prescriptions to patients across Scotland from April 2008 to December 2008* was approximately £834 million. This includes drug costs and related dispensing fees. Costs for 2009-10 and 2010-11 will depend upon various factors including future decisions by prescribers and future changes in drug costs. These are not forecast centrally but, as responsibility for meeting prescribing costs is devolved to NHS boards, each board sets its own prescribing budget.

  (b) The income from prescription charges** from April 2008 to December 2008* was £26 million and we estimate that income for the full financial year 2008-09 will be more than £33 million. We currently estimate income in 2009-10 and 2010-11 of £27 million and £21 million, respectively, but this will depend upon a number of factors including future decisions by prescribers. Notes: * full financial year data will not be available until later in the year. **including prescription charges for single items as well as income from sales of Prescription Pre-payment Certificates.

Prescriptions

Tricia Marwick (Central Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people purchased a prescription pre-payment certificate in each NHS board area in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) 2008-09.

Shona Robison: The number of prescription pre-payment certificates (PPC) purchased in each NHS board area in the years (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) 2008-09 is set out in the following table.

  

 NHS Board
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09


 Argyll and Clyde*
17,525
17,944
*
*


 Ayrshire and Arran
15,478
15,845
14,514
30,781


 Borders
4,077
4,385
4,003
8,487


 Dumfries and Galloway
5,945
6,152
5,401
10,587


 Fife
11,978
12,500
11,622
25,464


 Forth Valley
11,724
12,269
11,159
23,700


 Grampian
18,390
18,839
17,616
38,337


 Greater Glasgow
22,479
23,757
34,753
78,377


 Highland
7,797
8,269
11,487
23,656


 Lanarkshire
21,768
22,448
20,643
44,161


 Lothian
21,994
23,561
21,740
51,046


 Orkney
735
756
754
1,626


 Shetland
1,287
1,269
1,208
2,046


 Tayside
12,667
13,328
12,235
26,387


 Western Isles
1,465
1,552
1,335
2,623


 Scotland
175,310
182,874
168,470
367,275



  Note: *NHS Argyll and Clyde merged with NHS Greater Glasgow and NHS Highland in April 2006. The table shows PPC sales against Argyll and Clyde for the year following the merger because of the way data was then collected. Sales for the former board area have been combined with Greater Glasgow and Highland as appropriate for years 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Privacy

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to carry out an assessment of the role of surveillance in society.

Kenny MacAskill: There are no plans to conduct such an assessment.

Public Services Reform Bill

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects the public services reform Bill to be introduced by May 2009.

Michael Russell: The public services reform Bill will be introduced to Parliament in late May. It will include provisions for the establishment of Creative Scotland, the simplification of the public services landscape and organisational changes to health, social work and social care scrutiny bodies.

Rail Network

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Council of Economic Advisers has discussed the Waverley railway project and, if so, what its views are.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Council of Economic Advisors has not discussed the Borders Railway project.

Regeneration

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the criteria for applications to the Town Centre Regeneration Fund.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government announced on 30 April 2009 that the Town Centre Regeneration Fund was open for applications. Full details of this fund, including application form and guidance notes can be accessed from the Scottish Government website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/regeneration/town-centres/tcrf.

Regeneration

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how assets previously owned by Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire have been allocated between Scottish Enterprise and South Lanarkshire Council to support economic regeneration.

Jim Mather: Scottish Government and COSLA agreed in July 2008 that it was important to review the assets held by local authorities and Scottish Enterprise which relate to the delivery of local regeneration.

  In line with that agreement, meetings have taken place between senior officials from South Lanarkshire Council and Scottish Enterprise, and by pooling local knowledge and expertise, officials are developing a jointly agreed plan for the future use of assets, whether that will be development, disposal or retention. This is, of course, an on-going process and regular meetings are held to keep the joint plans under review. No assets have transferred to date. The key issue for national and local government is not so much the physical ownership of assets relating to the delivery of local regeneration but an assurance that they will be used in a way that maximises the benefits to local communities.

Regeneration

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the budget previously allocated to Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire for local regeneration was transferred to South Lanarkshire Council and how much that represented.

Jim Mather: Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire had no budget specifically allocated for local regeneration activities.

  The Scottish Government and COSLA agreed the transfer of local regeneration functions from Scottish Enterprise to the local authorities, with effect from 1 April 2008. Under the agreement two tranches of funding, each of £12.5 million a year, will be made available for local authorities. The first tranche of £12.5 million a year, which Scottish Enterprise (SE) had committed to local regeneration projects, will transfer directly to local authorities over the next few years. The agreement recognises that SE has existing commitments in respect of these projects but enables transfers to local authorities as these commitments are completed and where SE has been unable to meet expenditure plans, for example due to project delays or slippage. The second tranche of £12.5 million, Scottish Enterprise’s contribution to URCs, will be made available in the longer term. These funds will remain with Scottish Enterprise but will be ring-fenced for projects identified by Community Planning Partnerships. Under the agreement, around £4.4 million was transferred to local authorities recently, in respect of 2008-09, and South Lanarkshire Council’s share of that amounted to some £290,000.

Road Safety

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many speeding offences were detected by speed cameras in each of the last 24 months.

Kenny MacAskill: The information available relates to the audited number of Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty Notices (COFPN) paid for each of the eight safety camera partnerships which operate under the Scottish Safety Camera Programme. Audited data for 2008-09 is not yet available. Information provided relates to the financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08 and includes speeding and red-light violation offences.

  In 2006-07, 114,107 COFPN were paid for fines generated through the Scottish Safety Camera Programme. In 2007-08 this figure was 88,427.

Roads

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21883 by Stewart Stevenson on 2 April 2009, on what date indicative estimates of the capital cost, value of cost to government and present value benefits were first arrived at in relation to the Inverness bypass.

Stewart Stevenson: In relation to the Inverness bypass, the indicative estimates of the capital cost/value of cost to government and present value of benefits were first arrived at during May 2008 and between July and August 2008 respectively.

Roads

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be the minimum percentage of Grant Aided Expenditure that a local authority should spend on the non-trunk road network.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government does not set spending guidelines for local authorities. The allocation of funding to particular functions is the responsibility of each individual local authority.

Roads

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it provides per mile to local authorities to maintain the non-trunk road network.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government is providing local government in Scotland with record levels of funding amounting to £23 billion over the period 2008-10. The vast majority of the funding, including that to maintain the non-trunk road network, is being provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the total financial resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

Roads

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the distance is of the non-trunk road network in miles, broken down by local authority.

Stewart Stevenson: The information requested is given in the Scottish Transport Statistics No 27 2008 Edition , which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 47269).

  The specific information requested can be found on page 100, table 5.2.

Roads

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that South Lanarkshire Council requires additional resources to maintain adequately the non-trunk road network.

Stewart Stevenson: Funding for local roads is provided through the core local government finance settlement and each council is responsible for the maintenance and improvement of local roads in their area. It is entirely for councils to allocate the total resources available based on local needs and priorities including investment in local roads in their area.

Roads

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it believes that additional resources are required by any local authorities to enable them to maintain adequately the non-trunk road network.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government provides local authorities with funding for local roads and transport through the core local government finance settlement and each council is responsible for the maintenance and improvement of local roads in their area.

  It is for the councils to allocate the total resources available based on local needs and priorities, including investment in local roads in their area.

Roads

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it provides to local authorities on the standards it expects to be maintained on the non-trunk road network.

Stewart Stevenson: Local authorities are expected to conform to specific guidelines contained in the Code of Practice for Maintenance Management – Delivering Best Value in Highway Maintenance published by the Institute of Highways and Transportation in July 2005.

  Adherence to this guidance allows roads authorities to fulfil their duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain the local road network in a satisfactory manner.

Roads

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive to what standards it expects its contractors, such as BEAR Scotland, to work in maintaining the trunk road network.

Stewart Stevenson: The trunk road network is managed and maintained by operating companies who are contracted by Transport Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government. They carry out day-to-day inspection, management, maintenance and repairs to the trunk road network as set out in their contracts which are available on the Transport Scotland website at www.transportscotland.gov.uk .

Roads

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the resources available to local authorities to enable them to maintain the non-trunk road network to a standard comparable to that required for trunk roads.

Stewart Stevenson: A joint review with COSLA is currently underway. It will be concluded in time to inform the allocation of funding to local government from 2011-12, following the next Spending Review.

  The Scottish Government provides local authorities with funding for local roads and transport through the core local government finance settlement and each council is responsible for the maintenance and improvement of local roads in its area. It is for the councils to allocate the total resources available to meet local needs and priorities, including investment in local roads in their area.

Scottish Government Funding

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has examined the administrative costs incurred by each local authority in relation to the distribution of funds from the Fairer Scotland Fund to determine value for money.

Alex Neil: It is a matter for each local authority’s Community Planning Partnership to decide how much of its Fairer Scotland Fund award is used to cover administration costs.

Scottish Government Funding

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has put in place to ensure that the highest possible percentage of the annual £145 million budget of the Fairer Scotland Fund reaches the intended recipients, such as voluntary organisations.

Alex Neil: By replacing seven separate funds with the Fairer Scotland Fund (FSF), we have enabled Community Planning Partnerships (CPP) to reduce costs associated with administration and reporting. It is for each CPP to decide how best to invest its award from the FSF. However, CPPs have been asked to direct the bulk of their FSF resources at the delivery of front line services.

Scottish Government Funding

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates the cost would be of administering the funding allocation of the Fairer Scotland Fund from one main location on an annual basis.

Alex Neil: The Fairer Scotland Fund (FSF) is currently a ring-fenced element of the local government finance settlement. As such, there are no plans to estimate the cost of administering and investing the FSF centrally.

  Allocations from the FSF have been made to all 32 Community Planning Partnerships based on relative levels of multiple deprivation. As part of the historic concordat with local government, it is a matter for each local authority’s CPP to determine which individual investments will be most effective in driving the achievement of key outcomes.

Scottish Investment Fund

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations have received funding from the Scottish Investment Fund for (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10 and how much they have received in each case.

John Swinney: A total of five awards have been made from the Scottish Investment Fund.

  Two awards were made in 2008-09: Momentum Scotland Ltd - £500,000 Out of the Blue Arts and Education Trust - £425,000. Three awards have been made in 2009-10 to date: Comrie Development Trust - £200,000 West Lothian Food and Health Development - £200,000 Re-Union Canal Boats Ltd - £236,150. Awards from the fund are in the form of grant, loan and risk capital.

Sex Trafficking

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support victims of sex trafficking.

Kenny MacAskill: Under the terms of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings , which was ratified by the UK Government on 17 December 2008, where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an individual is a victim of trafficking for any purpose, he or she must be offered support for a reflection period of at least 30 days. In the UK the reflection period has been set at 45 days. During that time the individual will not be subject to deportation proceedings.

  The Scottish Government is working with the UK Government, statutory agencies and the third sector to ensure that victims of trafficking are identified and supported. The Scottish Government has provided funding to the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA), which provides specialist support to adult female victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. In addition, the Scottish Government has entered into an agreement with the Migrant Helpline to provide support to all other adult victims of trafficking, including adult males trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Local authorities have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their area who are in need regardless of their status and this would include victims of trafficking.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliament’s Art Collection

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body for what reason no portrait of Her Majesty The Queen hangs in the Scottish Parliament complex.

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what consideration it has given to hanging a portrait of Her Majesty The Queen in the Scottish Parliament complex.

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will hang a portrait of Her Majesty The Queen in the Scottish Parliament complex.

Tricia Marwick: The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body are happy to consider suggestions for new acquisitions and to refer these to the Art Advisory Group for their advice in this area.

  The Scottish Parliament’s Art Collection includes two significant pieces which commemorate the Parliament’s relationship with The Queen and which were presented to the Scottish Parliament by The Queen. The Scottish Parliament mace, designed and crafted by Michael Lloyd, is present whenever Parliament is sitting and commemorates the founding of the Scottish Parliament with the words "There shall be a Scottish Parliament - The Scotland Act 1998". The mace was presented by The Queen at the opening ceremony on 1 July 1999. The Honours of Scotland sculpture, commissioned by the Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh and made by silversmith Graham Stewart, symbolises the importance of the three honours of the Scotland; the Crown, the Sword and the Sceptre, in the history of the Scottish Parliament. The sculpture was presented by The Queen to mark the opening of the Scottish Parliament building on Saturday 9 October 2004.